According to Plan
by Candyland
Summary: Luke and Flora set the Professor up on a date! Wonder how it went...


**AN: **I should probably be putting this in "Drabble Attack," but I love this idea to an embarrassing degree, so it gets its own post. I credit Level-5 with the ownership of the dear Professor. I also must credit Magic Kaito, my best friend, for Layton's last line, as it was her idea. Thanks for reading, all! Much love!

**According to Plan**

Everything was going exactly according to plan, right down to the very last detail. And Luke and Flora were very excited to see if the results of their attempts at evil plotting would bear fruit.

It had been commented that Professor Layton, a man already in his late thirties, should be giving consideration to marriage and a family. He was quite handsome, intelligent, well-spoken, and very respectable. And he was certainly financially able to provide for a wife and family, something he already did with the two children who had ended up in his care; he was a mentor to one, and an adoptive guardian to the other.

And it seemed plausible to Luke and Flora both that the Professor might be a bit on the lonely side. So they conspired to try and find him a suitable mate.

They would never tell anyone how they had found the lady in question, but she seemed absolutely perfect. Good background, good breeding, well-educated, and almost the picture of traditional beauty, with big brown eyes and hair the color of goldenrods. She was one of the directors of a sizable charity organization, and had been on numerous trips around the world to help impoverished children. And most importantly, she seemed very interested in meeting the renowned archaeologist (and puzzle master, Luke would always add) Professor Layton.

When the big night came, the two teenagers were determined to having everything ready and perfect so that when they had to place the situation in the Professor's hands, there would be no way for it to get all messed up. Not that they really expected it to. After all, Layton was a perfect gentleman and a skilled conversationalist. He would have it in the bag, no problem.

Besides, Flora insisted, they needed another female presence in the house. When Luke looked blank, she muttered something about a lack of estrogen and went to her room.

When the big night came, they made sure that the Professor was dressed up in something a bit nicer than his everyday wear (though he refused to relinquish his hat, no way, absolutely not), and sent him off into the world to have a pleasant evening with a beautiful, charming woman.

They then resigned themselves to hunkering down in the Professor's study and waiting for him to return. They discussed the plan in hushed whispers (which was silly because there was no one else in the house to overhear them in the first place), and wondered how things were going.

It was nearing eleven o'clock when the front door opened. The two children had both been dozing off, but both woke immediately at the noise and rushed to the entryway to meet him. "Professor!" Luke said. "How did it go?"

"Have you both been waiting up for me?" Layton asked, sounding a bit surprised.

"Yes! How was it? How was she? Did you like her?" Flora asked breathlessly.

"Oh, Mary Sue? Yes, she was very nice," Layton said amiably, hanging his jacket on the coat rack.

"Err…Professor?" Luke asked after a moment. The rest of the question hung in the air, unspoken, but fairly clear: _MORE INFORMATION PLEASE?_

Layton fixed his apprentice with an odd look for a moment, then chuckled and shook his head, his eyes falling shut. "Luke, my boy, I understand what you were trying to do, but there is something that you really do need to understand. You as well, Flora."

They waited, both unconsciously holding their breath, and both certain that some of the Professor's classic, timeless, trademark wisdom was about to be bestowed upon them.

Professor Layton smiled and said, "A catch such as myself certainly cannot be tied down to one woman."

With that, he headed up the stairs, leaving his apprentice and his ward to gawk at his back in open-mouthed amazement. Had he really just said that?


End file.
